28 injured when bus collides with freeway divider

PERRIS, Calif. 
A tour bus crashed into a freeway divider in Southern California on Saturday, injuring all 28 people aboard including eight who suffered critical injuries, authorities said.

The crash was reported shortly before 5 p.m. on Interstate 215 in Perris. All northbound lanes were shut as firefighters and emergency responders rushed to the scene, Riverside County Fire Department Capt. Rick Griggs said from the scene.

Six passengers who were trapped in the back of the bus had to be extricated by rescuers, he said.

Besides the eight who were critically hurt, the other 20 suffered moderate injuries, he said. All passengers, whose ages ranged from 20s to 70s, were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.

The Inland Empire Stages Ltd. bus was returning a tour group to Colton after a trip to San Diego, California Highway Patrol Officer Danny Hesser told the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

About 4:50 p.m., the bus veered right and crashed into a sound barrier. It continued running along the wall until there was a break in the wall and then veered farther to the right and crashed into a second sound wall, Hesser said.

The cause of the crash was under investigation.

Perris is about 60 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Inland Empire Stages Ltd. has 19 buses and 35 drivers.

Federal records show that the company had two vehicles involved in state-reported crashes in the past 30 months.

One of those resulted in injuries, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation Web site.

Contacted by phone by the Press-Enterprise, company Vice President Curtis Basey said he did not wish to comment.